Unafraid: Mary (The Lineage of Grace Series #5) [Hardcover]

Francine Rivers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

Mary is one of the most revered women in history, but she was an ordinary woman striving to please God in the same way that women still do today. Readers are sure to gain a new appreciation of the familiar story through Francine's signature style. A study on the biblical text is included for personal or group study.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her fifth and final Lineage of Grace novella, renowned Christian writer Rivers tackles the most celebrated woman in Christian history Mary, the mother of Jesus - with mixed results. Using the biblical account of Jesus' life as a framework, Rivers adds such imaginative scenes as Mary watching the young Jesus healing his little sister, Anne, or Mary pondering Jesus' ability to see that there is always enough bread and oil in the larder to keep the family afloat. There are warm mother-son exchanges ("You're so thin!") and personal details ("Jesus had Mary's chin... but no one ever said Jesus had her eyes...."). The stakes are higher here for Rivers than in previous novellas. While Christians may not mind Rivers taking inventive liberties with characters such as the prostitute Rahab (Unashamed), the same grace might not be extended to her fictionalization the revered Mary and Jesus. At the same time, Rivers having taken the plunge in choosing Mary could have risked a little bit more. Disappointingly absent from this novella are any undercurrents of sexual tension between Mary and Joseph, which Rivers conjectured so well with other characters in the series (particularly Ruth and Boaz in Unshaken). The result is a more lackluster offering. Rivers's writing, however, is excellent. If Christian readers can accept the imaginative episodes without rejecting the lessons embedded in the story, Rivers may succeed in giving them courage through Mary's example of strong faith.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this conclusion to Rivers's series about Jesus' matrilineal ancestors (e.g., Unshaken), Mary is not the serene Madonna historically depicted in art. She is instead a willful child, an unwed pregnant teenager thrilled that the long-awaited Messiah will come from her and failing to understand why people won't believe her when she tells them of her vision of an angel of the Lord. Only after God appears to Joseph does he believe and wed Mary. From then on, even though she loves her whole family, Jesus is Mary's sole focus, almost her obsession. Before her faith can become strong enough to endure his crucifixion, Mary must learn that her son was never really hers and that she was the vessel through which God worked his grace. The Christy Award-winning Rivers provides a fresh look at the historical Mary in much the same way Ellen Gunderson Traylor (Mary Magdalene, Mark) and Thom Lemmons (Daughters of Faith series) have done with other biblical figures. A solid addition to all collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842335994
• ISBN-13: 978-0842335997
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Francine Rivers began her literary career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English and journalism. From 1976 to 1985, she had a successful writing career in the general market, and her books were highly acclaimed by readers and reviewers. Although raised in a religious home, Francine did not truly encounter Christ until later in life, when she was already a wife, a mother of three, and an established romance novelist. Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote "Redeeming Love" as her statement of faith. First published by Bantam Books and then rereleased by Multnomah Publishers in the mid-1990s, this retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea, set during the time of the California Gold Rush, is now considered by many to be a classic work of Christian fiction. Redeeming Love continues to be one of the Christian Booksellers Association's top-selling titles, and it has held a spot on the Christian best-seller list for nearly a decade. Since "Redeeming Love," Francine has published numerous novels with Christian themes--all best sellers--and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for numerous honors, including the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Gold Medallion, and the Holt Medallion in Honor of Outstanding Literary Talent. In 1997, after winning her third RITA Award for inspirational fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame. Francine's novels have been translated into over 20 different languages, and she enjoys best-seller status in many foreign countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa. Francine and her husband, Rick, live in northern California and enjoy time spent with their three grown children and taking every opportunity to spoil their grandchildren. Francine uses her writing to draw closer to the Lord, and she desires that through her work she might worship and praise Jesus for all He has done and is doing in her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Series Ends, December 8, 2001

By 

Kellyannl (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unafraid: Mary (The Lineage of Grace Series #5) (Hardcover)

Francine Rivers ends her wonderful "Lineage of Grace" series with the life of Mary.

In this version Mary is hardly meek and mild, but a teenage girl impatient for the coming of the Messiah. When she has Jesus, she is shocked when no one believes that she was a virgin when she became pregnant - the begining of a rude awakening. It is Joseph who realizes, as he is dying, that his stepson will be the Man of Sorrows - and Jesus' refusal to save Joseph because it's his time is Mary's first sign that things will not go the way she expected. Will she spend the rest of her life bitterly waiting for Jesus to become the awaited warrior-king and prove to the world that she didn't sleep with Joseph before their wedding?

Ms. Rivers has taken a daring risk by making her Mary a not-necessarily likable person who, for instance, can only see her children with Joseph as falling short of her expectations after having raised the only perfect child who ever lived. Herein lies the point. Up until now, the series has been admirably non-denominational. Ms. Rivers, a Born-Again Christian, deliberately makes the point that Mary was a normal person just like you and me - and in no way divine. I'm Protestant myself - and this is in fact one of the cornerstones of our denomination - but Catholics, you've been warned...

This is actually in some ways my least favorite of the series, although I see what Ms. Rivers was trying to do. Read it to complete her vision, but also try the excellent "Two from Galilee" by Marjorie Holmes, which I feel covers the relationship between Mary and Joseph better.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If nothing else, thought provoking, March 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Unafraid: Mary (The Lineage of Grace Series #5) (Hardcover)

Aspects of this book I enjoyed:

The portrayal of Mary and Joseph's relationship. While I felt Joseph was too good to be true, I did enjoy being swept along by his constant strength and guidance for Mary as she struggled with being the mother of Jesus.

Mary's ongoing struggle between her will vs. the Lord's will. This gave me some insight as to what it may have been like for Mary. She was doubted and scorned and accused of being a liar when she claimed to be a virgin. It is human nature to want to be vindicated when falsely accused. It is a fascinating viewpoint to see her sense of urgency that Jesus reveal himself in order to exonerate herself.

Mary's struggle between her loyalty to Jesus and her loyalty to her unbelieving children. Another interesting viewpoint on the struggles Mary was bound to have when Jesus declared himself the Messiah and yet his own siblings did not believe.

Aspects of the book I disliked:

Too much time spent on Mary's "awe". Personally, I think it's a given that she would have difficulty reconciling the humanity of Jesus and the Deity of Jesus. All of the "and still she couldn't believe that this man was the Savior" stuff was trite and overdone.

Joseph is the perfect husband. Joseph, who struggled initially, becomes somehow the perfect, all-knowing, ever-strong husband after his encounters with the angel. One of Francine Rivers faults is he tendency to paint the male main characters of her books in too perfect of a light.

Jesus (I'm sorry) creeps me out. His humanity doesn't come through at all. Rivers focuses a lot on the internal spiritual struggle Mary sees present in Jesus, but does little to develop his human side (but for a few snippets where Jesus tells his siblings stories while they sit in his lap). Irreverent as it sounds, Jesus just isn't a very likeable character in her book.

All in all, it was an OK read. I would suggest checking it out from the library rather than buying it.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't Stick to what was in the Bible, April 8, 2002

By 

C. J. Capwell (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unafraid: Mary (The Lineage of Grace Series #5) (Hardcover)

I was so excited to read the 5th Book the in the Lineage of Grace series. The other 4 books were true to the facts shown in the Bible and Francine Rivers added historical information as well as what might have been said between the characters.

The books made me go back to the Bible and re-read the story and in the first 4 books, I saw information, I had never learned before & I thank Ms. Rivers for that. It really invigorated my Bible study time.

However I was sadly disappointed with Book #5 about Mary. I didn't think she did the research that the other books had. Also I found a number of occasions where she deviated from what I found in the New Testament. She also left out the entire episode where she visits Elizabeth and Mary's prayer. I have read other material about what the times were like when Jesus was born, and I didn't think Ms. Rivers did thorough research this time.

I must respond though to another review. If you believe everything in the Bible is true, which I do, then Mary did have a sister (John 19:25) & she did have both sons & daughters (Matthew 13:55-56, Mark 6:3). You just have to look up the references in the Bible.